The Hierarchy of Rococo Women Seen through Fashion Paintings

The style of Rococo evokes a variety of feminine attributions; women were usually depicted in works of art in a decorative manner. Many of the interpretations of these paintings focus on the luxurious clothes and lavish backgrounds. Artists like Jean-Antoine Watteau and Francois Boucher were responsible for elevating a very elegant view of Rococo women of Rococo within the public’s eyes. But there were also depictions of non-aristocratic women that were geared more to the middle class (bourgeois). After reading a number of articles and book chapters on Jean-Baptiste- Simeon Chardin, and visiting the Louvre museum in Paris, I became aware that his works were usually of women engaged in the activities of daily life and busy household work. I want to argue that a detailed study of fashion within paintings can tell us a lot about the different social classes and hierarchies of 18th century France. My proposed research contributes to the understanding of the different roles and expectations between the social classes by focusing on the depiction of fashion in French paintings of the 18th century.